Dreams take place during REM sleep.
REM is rapid eye movement, which occurs during your deepest sleep. Another name given to this state is paradoxical sleep. You’ve likely heard a few stories of people happening upon fame-making discoveries in their dreams. But the ability to utilize sleep as a problem-solving technique isn’t limited to a select few. We all are capable of making similarly important discoveries in our own dreams. During this time we filter out all the distraction, and noises which divide our concentration into fragments. During REM sleep, we are in what you could call a deep concentrative state, thus being able to focus on the problems that annoy us during our waking hours.
In the Bible, God spoke to his chosen ones in dreams, when they were not distracted with everyday noise and problems. He is constantly trying to talk to us, through prayer, songs and dreams, we just have to take the time to listen. Funny how people listen better when they are still and quiet, even asleep. That is when he has our undivided attention, if only we would listen better all the time. He wants nothing more than to be in constant communication with us.
The Ojibwa and Lakota Indians have a tradition of hanging a dream catcher above the cradle board of their infants. It was said in order to trap the bad dreams in the web, and let the good one slide down gently onto the sleeping infant, one must hang it where the sunlight will hit it in the morning, burning up the bad dreams that had been trapped during the night.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a magical circle that would trap all the bad things in our lives, so our lives would be better! Well, we have something even better, the Word of God! Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So you see, he is talking to you through the Word of God, and our faith depends on us listening. He tells us every day, in a hundred ways how much He loves us and wants us to know it, but it’s up to us to listen. The Bible is our dream catcher, because His dream for us is to have eternal life with Him, and the path to salvation lies within its pages.
As parents it is up to us to teach our children about the pitfalls of talismans like a rabbit foot, crystals, and dream catchers. They do not hold any magical properties, but as long as they know that, they make pretty decorations. We need to read them the Bible from the time they are small, because by hearing comes faith.
We as authors have used all kinds of talismans, like lucky coins, rabbit feet, and even special rocks, to bring luck to our main characters. Life would be easier if such things were true, instead of we let superstition and excuses manifest themselves as excesses for any failures we might go through. We all can benefit from being still and listening for God’s voice.
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
Genesis 46:2
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Numbers 12:6
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:14-16